Australorps breed Thread

[MeanV2]

As Kurt mentioned, when there is an obvious defect, cull when its detected................If you have several birds that are very similar and they all look real nice ..........then there is the option of what time YOU think is optimum for you as a breeder of show chickens. How many chickens can you afford to feed waiting for them to be all they can be?
If time and money is not a problem and you don't have any worries then by all means keep them and cull after they molt, you will definitely know what you have and you wont have that gut feeling that you should have not had that "ONE" bird for BBQ.

It is totally up to the individual what he or she is or isn't going to do.

We wait 10 months and longer if needed.

Chet, There are some obvious combs that I don't like in my 20, and the next thing I would look at is eyes. I'd say the comb problems can be culled by 5 to 6 months. Time and/or money is not as much of a problem as is room. I have had chicken coops under construction since early March so we are gaining on it. I think the last one I built should be tornado safe (not really) but it is stout. I already have a few named, Chicken Dinner, Bar-B-Que, Chicken Soup, & Enchilada!

I already have a neighbor that is taking notice of my chickens and comparing them to his

Dan

 

[Cowboy44]

Received my Black Australorps and White Leghorns today!! So excited to watch them grow and start laying eggs in 5-6 months looking forward to selling babies by next spring!!

 

[huppfarm]

Chet,
I will try to post some new pics of the Hupp 5 this week, close ups if I can pull that off. They will be 10 weeks old at posting.
Kurt

Ron, I have never seen white feathers after a molt either, especially in my adults. However, I have seen lot of white feathers come and go with the babies. It always amazed me that they are born black and white and then turn totally black, with the green sheen!
Kurt

That would be great! so I can see if the eye color you are talking about is the same as what I have with that black male.
I would have to go into my data to see exactly how much older my hatch was, Im thinking a month? they are already jumping up on our laps and liking to be picked up. They seem to be very calm. This is the first batch of chicks that Ive had that there have been no 4-H kids running around trying to catch them, that probably helps out. I retired from 4-H just this year after doing it since the mid 90's and passed the flame on to another who has young kids, hope he can keep things rolling. Many parents and local folks were sad that I retired but its time for parents to step up and start teaching their kids and get more involved. My kids are all grown up and moved away so it was time.

 

[huppfarm]

Received my Black Australorps and White Leghorns today!! So excited to watch them grow and start laying eggs in 5-6 months looking forward to selling babies by next spring!!

Have fun and good luck!

 

[huppfarm]

Chet, There are some obvious combs that I don't like in my 20, and the next thing I would look at is eyes. I'd say the comb problems can be culled by 5 to 6 months. Time and/or money is not as much of a problem as is room. I have had chicken coops under construction since early March so we are gaining on it. I think the last one I built should be tornado safe (not really) but it is stout. I already have a few named, Chicken Dinner, Bar-B-Que, Chicken Soup, & Enchilada!

I already have a neighbor that is taking notice of my chickens and comparing them to his

Dan

Yep, sure know the comb thing, I keep them if they have 6 points and then watch for tail angle(no higher than 40 degrees off of the back), tail form(like a teepee from the view of the rear) not pinch tails, plumage and width(they should be as wide at the shoulders as they are at the saddle and cushion if possible. ah heck, a guy or gal can go crazy trying to raise the perfect chicken, . Only once in a while will we be lucky enough that nature will provide.

 

[ronott1]

Has that been your experience?
16 years of breeding them and I have never seen white feathers other than when they are very young and turning to adults in the wing feathers.
That is new to me.

Chet,
I will try to post some new pics of the Hupp 5 this week, close ups if I can pull that off. They will be 10 weeks old at posting.
Kurt

Ron, I have never seen white feathers after a molt either, especially in my adults. However, I have seen lot of white feathers come and go with the babies. It always amazed me that they are born black and white and then turn totally black, with the green sheen!
Kurt

I have one that molted back with a feather with a white tip; she is not show quality though. I have read about them molting and then having white tipped feathers.

I am happy to hear that yours have not had that problem, since I have Hupp Farm Blue Australorps now!

 

[Gramma Chick]

Well I checked out my Roo ..Ive got the scratches to prove it ..
his Skin on his head & neck are Red , Skin on body is white - light pink. bottoms of feet are light pink also ..
So I think I have the Real Mc coy !
We are incubating 3 of our eggs ...It will be interesting to see what a Australorp / road island red looks like .., Australorp/ comet looks like ..

We just want good egg layers ..we dont have any Australorp hens ...sorry ..

 

[huppfarm]

I have one that molted back with a feather with a white tip; she is not show quality though. I have read about them molting and then having white tipped feathers.

I am happy to hear that yours have not had that problem, since I have Hupp Farm Blue Australorps now!

I remembered that BA's can get white feathers due to some types of stress, perhaps the molt was stressful for the bird.

 

[huppfarm]

Well I checked out my Roo ..Ive got the scratches to prove it ..
his Skin on his head & neck are Red , Skin on body is white - light pink. bottoms of feet are light pink also ..
So I think I have the Real Mc coy !
We are incubating 3 of our eggs ...It will be interesting to see what a Australorp / road island red looks like .., Australorp/ comet looks like ..

We just want good egg layers ..we dont have any Australorp hens ...sorry ..

A fine job sacrificing a little pain to find the truth!
Since the head contains all the red parts of the chicken, comb, wattles, earlobes and face, you have found that beyond the neck is the white skin of the Australorp. next time you want to find the skin color with ease, just lift up the wing and the skin will be exposed under the wing.
You should have some fine egg layers with the custom breeding you have in mind. Take some pics of your chicks and keep us up to date on the progress you make!
Happy Hatches

 

[AParmer]

I'm new to Australorps. I fell in love with six little penguins I found at a local hardware store. Which is not where I normally buy my chicks but it worried me to no end them sitting there with open tops for everybody to come handle at such a young age. Call me funny, comes from growing up with parents raising GSDs for show. They wouldn't let you come "lookie-loo" and touch if you weren't serious. Anyway, I brought these adorable little pullets home, and am truly enjoying being "mother hen." I do have a question though, that will require me going out and taking some good close pictures here in a few minutes to post. My oldest girls are 6.5 weeks old and starting to fill out so beautifully. (I have four 4.5 week olds as well, two cockrels and two pullets) Four of my six girls have solid black feathers with a slight greenish/purple shine to them when they're in the sunlight. But the other two seem to have a laced look to them. The outline of the feathers are slightly darker than the inside. They still look very black until you get close and can see the slight color difference. Is there a chance that I could have gotten something besides Black Lorps? Maybe a different color strain tossed in there or something?